# What have you memorized, intentionally or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 20, 2023, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972 "2023-04-20T13:24:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![NinthAcolyte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ninthacolyte/32/13676_2.png) [@NinthAcolyte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NinthAcolyte)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/81 "2023-04-21T15:32:19Z")
> [@phs3](#): > > > [@Jackmannii](#): > > > > And Jabberwocky. > > Me too! Since seventh grade. Talk about useless… Ditto! I also unintentionally memorized the [“Hold Fast” chant](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/7504777-hold-fast-to-the-law-of-the-last-cold-tome) from Mervyn Peake’s _Gormenghast_. I just liked it a lot and read it until it stuck. Other than that I know a few bits of other poems by heart, particularly pieces of Browning and Swinburne, who are my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/82 "2023-04-21T15:38:51Z")
I had to memorize all the US Presidents in order for a class in 8th grade. I still have that committed to long term rote memory and it’s occasionally useful (I’m a history buff). Problem is, I only memorized up to Jimmy Carter, who happened to be the President at the time, so while I can fly through the list up to Carter, dredging up Reagan…Bush…Clinton…GW Bush…Obama…Trump…Biden requires considerable active memory recall, which is weird when you consider they’re more recent. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/83 "2023-04-21T15:42:44Z")
> [@Cardigan](#): > > I had to memorize all the US Presidents in order for a class in 8th grade. When I was a kid, my Dad taught me a mnemonic rhyme in which the words started with the last name of all the Presidents in order. Unfortunately, he learned it when he was a kid, so it only went up to Hoover. I can _usually_ remember all the Presidents post-Hoover. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/84 "2023-04-21T15:45:23Z")
I remember my high school alma mater. Why? The class officers wanted those who could sing to memorize it so we could prod the rest of the class into joining along during the graduation ceremony. _Sung to the tune of “[Dedicatory Overture](https://www.youtube.com/embed/bcsfYoqSt3k?rel=0&start=98&end=175&autoplay=1)”_ High in the hills of Habersham Silver and Blue our colors fly, Honored with love and loyalty Central, your name shall never die. Central O Monument of glory We love you more and more each day. Tears will flow when we leave these halls Central, your name shall never die. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/85 "2023-04-21T15:47:13Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Tears will flow when we leave these halls I’m sure that line was delivered with no satirical intent whatsoever. Because who doesn’t well up with tears fondly remembering high school, right? ---
**Author:** ![alovem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b38774/32.png) [@alovem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alovem)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/86 "2023-04-21T16:37:25Z")
Musical notation: treble clef, bass clef and time values. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/87 "2023-04-21T17:45:20Z")
I still remember the landline telephone number for the house in another state I haven’t lived in for 48 years. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/88 "2023-04-21T17:52:07Z")
All of the verses to the “Bottles of Beer on the Wall” song. ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/89 "2023-04-21T19:00:28Z")
I remember the very first locker combination I ever had in junior high. 43-45-17. However, I don’t remember any other locker combination I ever had since. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/90 "2023-04-21T19:14:21Z")
Oh, and Pi to fourteen decimal places. ETA: and the first four Pythagorean Triples where the first two of the triple differ by one. (3-4-5 being the first and most famous). ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/91 "2023-04-21T19:18:08Z")
Quick, what’s your fifth general order, Marine? I frequently invoke this one when it’s Miller Time. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/92 "2023-04-21T19:22:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > -There were street preachers in my downtown who absolutely got on my last nerve. So I wrote out the Lord’s Prayer backwards and memorized it, It’s ironic that we get that from when Jesus advised us NOT to recite rote prayers but to pray sincerely and from the heart. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/93 "2023-04-21T20:35:05Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Christian Morgestern - and the last paragraph of the introduction to his [Galgenlieder](https://de.wikisource.org/wiki/Galgenlieder)! One single completely bonkers sentence, I still find it hilarious You could get yourself a 72-hour hold reciting that one. It makes “The Great Panjandrum” sound positively lucid by comparison. 😄 ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/94 "2023-04-21T20:41:29Z")
> [@commasense](#): > > Jabberwocky That’s a good one. I know it as well. I know _part_ of _[Die Lorelei](https://www.thoughtco.com/heinrich-heine-german-author-1444575)_. I know a lot of theme music from '60s and '70s sit-coms. But really, it’s impossible to enumerate everything in my head. My head is a [Huntz Hall] vast suppository of useless information. [/HH] It annoys the hell out of my wife that everything reminds me of something. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/95 "2023-04-21T20:45:40Z")
The list is correct, but we don’t call them dative _adverbs_, but _prepositions_ that require dative. > [@Lumpy](#): > > You could get yourself a 72-hour hold reciting that one. It makes “The Great Panjandrum” sound positively lucid by comparison. 😄 Now I am going to have a look at that Panjandrum. I have tried the Jabberwookie, I think it’s hilarious too, but it beats me. ---
**Author:** ![Railer13](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/railer13/32/9742_2.png) [@Railer13](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Railer13)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/96 "2023-04-21T20:56:48Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > we don’t call them dative _adverbs_, but _prepositions_ that require dative. Duh, of course. Thanks for the correction! ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/97 "2023-04-21T22:33:01Z")
Deliberately: _Jaberwocky_ and _Father William_ (Lewis Carroll), _The Yarn of the “Nancy Bell”_ (W.S. Gilbert), _The Betrothed_ and _Gunga Din_ and _Tommy_ plus stanzas out of several others (Rudyard Kipling). All that glisters is not gold. . . etc. from **The Merchant of Venice** Preamble to the Constitution, Gettysburg Address. All the SSNs for my wife, my kids, and I. Any number of songs and prayers. Inadvertantly: My first driver’s license, my current driver’s license, and my current phone numbers and the number of my wife (plus I still remember our number from 60+ years ago). The ID numbers for the Programs, PROCs, and JOBs from a subsystem in my first job as a programmer. My license plate number from my first car. I recall the address of every place I’ve lived (Only 8 of those over 70+ years thus far.) For several years I knew my most frequently used credit card, but some hacker forced a change in cards and I do not recall all 16 digits of any cards I have now. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2023, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/98 "2023-04-21T22:50:30Z")
> [@zimaane](#): > > The phone number of a certain carpet installation business. Those of you who have lived in Chicagoland will know what I am talking about. Now it’s running through my head, and I’m not from Chicago, in fact I grew up in another state. But I had college friends from the Chicago 'burbs who would torture each other with that. I really should look up the actual commercial… ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/99 "2023-04-22T05:16:17Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > All of the verses to the “Bottles of Beer on the Wall” song. I know most of it, but I can never remember the last verse. ---
**Author:** ![Moonrise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moonrise/32/14764_2.png) [@Moonrise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonrise)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2023, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972/100 "2023-04-22T13:52:51Z")
Most strikingly, dozens and dozens of dates of various events of my life. I can even often remember the exact day of the week and what the weather was like when they happened. Also : - About 15 piano pieces ; - Countless song lyrics ; - 5 phone numbers (my parents’, my grandmother’s, my ex-wife’s, my work and my ex’s) ; - Tens of advertising jingles ; - Some snippets from poems (in English and in French) ; - A treasure trove of useless trivia that I’ve collected since childhood (memory almost full) ; - My Student ID Number from 30 years ago. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-have-you-memorized-intentionally-or-not/982972.md?page=6)